The Poetry of Maya Angelou That Moves Through Us – Mixed Media Protest Artwork by Cheryl Fudge

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In “The Poetry of Maya Angelou That Moves Through Us”, Cheryl Fudge offers a lyrical protest against erasure—a tribute to … Read more In “The Poetry of Maya Angelou That Moves Through Us”, Cheryl Fudge offers a lyrical protest against erasure—a tribute to the enduring voice of one of the world’s greatest writers. The piece responds to the recent removal of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” from shelves at the U.S. Naval Academy’s library, an act that echoes a long and troubling history of silencing transformative narratives.

At its center, a luminous fish glides through layers of deep color. Its body, inscribed with vintage stamps and faded script, becomes a vessel of memory and resistance. It does not pause to understand the absurdity of censorship—it swims forward, untouched, refusing to be caught in the net of suppression.

Below it, a woman strums a mandolin, her music glowing with light. Her melody, like Angelou’s poetry, cuts through silence and lingers in the air—a force both tender and unyielding. Circular forms drift through the canvas: orbits, portals, the shape of breath, the shape of speech.

Threaded through the composition is a quiet defiance, best captured in Angelou’s own words:
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.”

Framed with a gold-edged inner mat and housed in a museum-quality frame, this piece invites us to listen—to the voices that refuse to be erased, and to the art and poetry that moves through us, still singing.. See less